2024-12-01 20:11

WARSAW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - An oil pipe leak in Western Poland led the operator of the Druzhba pipeline transporting oil to German refineries to suspend pumping on one of its branches, but this did not effect supply to customers, operator PERN said. PERN said in a statement that although the damaged branch was immediately shut down, oil supplies continued through a second branch, "whose technical capabilities fully cover the volume needs of customers". It added the causes of the incident were not known at this time and they would be investigated by an internal committee operating at PERN. The operator had identified the leak in a culvert under a road and has started work to replace the damaged pipeline. It said the work would not affect oil supplies or the operation of the road, and there was no threat to residents. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-finds-oil-spill-near-pipeline-germany-firefighters-say-2024-12-01/

2024-12-01 19:51

Norway was due to have first licensing round in 2025 Party supporting minority government opposed plan Election in September could overturn the decision OSLO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A small leftwing environmentalist political party in Norway succeeded on Sunday in blocking plans to mine the sea bed at the bottom of the Arctic, by demanding the government scrap its first licensing round in return for support for the budget. "We are stopping plans to open mining on the sea bed," Kirsti Bergstoe, leader of the SV party which is outside the governing coalition but supports the minority government, told reporters. The government, which had planned to offer its first deep-sea mining exploration permits in the first half of 2025, said that although the plan was suspended, preparatory work would continue, including creating regulations and mapping the environmental impact. "This will be a postponement," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, from the Labour Party, told private broadcaster TV2. Norway, whose vast hydrocarbon reserves made it one of the world's wealthiest countries, had taken a leading role in the global race to mine the ocean floor for metals that are in high demand as nations transition away from fossil fuels. "This is a crucial win in the fight against deep sea mining. It should be the nail in the coffin for the destructive industry," Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway, told Reuters. Oslo had plans to open large areas of its Arctic region next year for its inaugural sea bed licensing round, despite opposition from green campaigners and a coalition of 32 countries, including Germany, France, Canada and Brazil. The agreement concluded on Sunday by SV and the government, consisting of Labour and the agrarian Centre Party, means that planned licensing round will not proceed. Norwegians head to the polls in September and two opposition parties leading in opinion surveys, the Conservatives and the Progress Party, are in favour of deep-sea mining. "If a new government attempts to reopen the licensing round we will fight relentlessly against it," said Greenpeace's Pleym. Preliminary official resource estimates showed "substantial" accumulations of metals and minerals, ranging from copper to rare earth elements, the government said in 2023. At least three Norwegian seabed mineral start-ups - Stavanger-based Loke, Oslo-based Green Minerals and Bergen-based Adepth, have previously said they planned to bid in the first licensing round. The companies were not immediately available for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norway-stop-deep-sea-mining-says-party-supporting-minority-government-2024-12-01/

2024-12-01 17:06

ATHENS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Torrential rains flooded homes, businesses and roads in the popular Greek tourist island of Rhodes on Sunday, forcing authorities to temporarily ban the use of vehicles as Storm Bora pounded the country for a second day. On Saturday, a man died in flash floods which hit another Greek island in the northern Aegean. The fire service received more than 650 calls to pump water out of flooded buildings on Rhodes island and evacuated 80 people to safer ground, with the city of Ialysos hit the hardest. No injuries were reported. Cars and debris were piled up high in the flooded streets of Rhodes, with residents trying to remove mud from their water-logged properties. "The situation is tragic, some have lost their homes, some have fled, our cars are in a terrible condition," said Sofia Kanelli in Ialysos. Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis told Greece's SKAI TV that the bad weather would continue on Monday. The Mediterranean country has been ravaged by floods and wildfires in recent years, with scientists saying that Greece has become a "hot spot" for climate change. "The conditions in recent years are different; we have sudden rainfall and sudden floods," Varthakogiannis said. In 2023, more than 20,000 tourist and locals were forced to flee homes and seaside hotels as wildfires burned for days. Thunderstorms and heavy rain also interrupted train services in mainland Greece, especially in the centre and north of the country. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/storm-bora-floods-homes-streets-greek-island-rhodes-2024-12-01/

2024-12-01 16:22

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman flew to the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi state news agency said on Sunday, the first such visit in three years. The visit comes days ahead of a Dec. 5 OPEC+ oil policy meeting that had been postponed from Sunday. Sources have told Reuters that among the issues that need to be addressed include an output hike for the United Arab Emirates agreed in June this year that's scheduled to start in January 2025. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia, had postponed its meeting on the back of a Gulf Summit scheduled for Sunday in Kuwait. The Saudi state news agency did not give a reason behind the crown prince's visit to the UAE. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are traditional allies but economic rivalry has on occasion seen them chart separate paths on certain topics. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-crown-prince-visits-uae-saudi-state-news-agency-says-2024-12-01/

2024-12-01 16:21

Bangladesh seeks to renegotiate Adani power deal amid court investigation Gautam Adani faces U.S. bribery allegations for India deals, denies charges Bangladesh pays high rates for Adani power, seeks price reduction DHAKA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Bangladesh wants to sharply lower prices under a power purchase deal with India's embattled Adani Group unless it is cancelled by a court, which has called for an investigation into the 25-year deal, its de facto energy minister told Reuters on Sunday. Adani Group founder Gautam Adani is already facing allegations by U.S. authorities that he was part of a $265 million bribery scheme in India, charges he has denied, even as one Indian state reviews a power deal with the group and France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab pauses its investments. In Bangladesh, based on an appeal by a lawyer demanding the power deal's potential cancellation, the High Court last week ordered a committee of experts to examine the contract under which Adani supplies power from a $2 billion coal-fired plant in eastern India. The investigation is expected to be concluded by February, when the court is due to make its order. The deal was signed in 2017 by Adani and a government entity under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted this year amid a popular uprising and accusations of widespread corruption. Supply from the 1,600 megawatt plant, which uses expensive imported coal, started last year and meets about a tenth of Bangladesh's consumption. "Renegotiate in case of anomalies in the contract. Cancel only in case of irregularities such as corruption and bribery," Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Bangladesh's power and energy adviser, said in an interview in his office. "Both based on the findings of the court-ordered investigations." He said some issues, such as Bangladesh not benefiting from some Indian tax exemptions to the power plant, have already been flagged to Adani and could partly form the basis of a deal renegotiation. Adani did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the weekend. Adani Power Ltd (ADAN.NS) , opens new tab said in its latest annual report , opens new tab that the plant in India's Jharkhand state would provide Bangladesh uninterrupted, reliable and affordable electricity and "significantly reduce the average cost" for the end consumer. Khan said the U.S. corruption allegations against Adani themselves may not have any bearing on the Bangladeshi deal. A separate committee formed by Bangladesh's interim government is already probing the Adani deal and six other power contracts with the aim to ensure the investigations "will be acceptable in international negotiations and arbitration", said a government statement. At 14.02 taka a unit, Adani charged the highest rate for Indian-generated power to Bangladesh in the 2022/23 fiscal year, compared with an average price of 8.77 taka ($0.0737), according to the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board. Adani's rate fell to 12 taka a unit in 2023/24, still 27% higher than the rate of India's other private producers and as much as 63% more than Indian state-owned plants, Reuters has reported. The retail price in Bangladesh is 8.95 taka per unit, which results in an annual power subsidy bill of 320 billion taka for the exchequer, Khan said. "Because the prices are high, the government has to subsidise," Khan said. "We would like power prices, not only from Adani, to come down below the average retail prices." Bangladesh, however, will keep paying for the power it is importing from Adani, he said. The company had recently halved its supply because of a delay in payment. Khan said Bangladesh has enough domestic capacity to meet its needs, though some plants are currently idle or generating below capacity because of a shortage of gas or other reasons. "When Adani cut their supply to half, nothing happened," he said. "We will not allow any power producer to blackmail us." ($1 = 119.0000 taka) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bangladesh-wants-renegotiate-adani-power-deal-unless-court-cancels-2024-12-01/

2024-12-01 15:33

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Ecuador's government will take over operations of the country's OCP heavy crude oil pipeline for six months until a fresh tender is launched, the nation's energy and mines ministry said on Sunday. Previously, the ministry said the transfer from OCP Ecuador, a private consortium which had run the pipeline, to the government would be carried out on Nov. 30 but did not specify how long the state would manage the infrastructure. OCP Ecuador and the government inked a mediation agreement in January for the handover of the pipeline, which can transport up to 450,000 barrels per day despite operating below capacity. OCP Ecuador's contract had expired on Jan. 20. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ecuador-government-run-heavy-crude-pipeline-six-months-2024-12-01/